


I'm Glad You're Alive

by shrewbuddy



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Possible S7 Spoilers, Prompt Fic, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 12:37:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15663369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shrewbuddy/pseuds/shrewbuddy
Summary: A collection of post-battle fics that promote realistic, non-sexual intimacy after the adrenaline of a battle. Some platonic, some romantic, some up to interpretation! Overall, lots of cute to help us post-season 7. No solid timeline, just a bunch of battles taking place over the Paladins’ journey.In short, I’m ace, and I hate the “OMG, we’re alive, that’s crazy, let’s bang it out” trope.





	I'm Glad You're Alive

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While on a reconnaissance mission of a nearby desert planet, Lance and Keith run into some local creatures that put Lance in an interesting position.

The sun was hot against the surface of Lance’s armor. The planet they had landed on was mostly sand. If it wasn’t for the temperature regulators in their suits, Keith and Lance would have succumbed to heatstroke long ago. The heat radiated around them, and in the distance, the pair could see waves of hot billowing up from the ground. It was still slightly stifling, but the suits made the heat manageable.

Lance peeked at Keith from the corner of his eye. A bead of sweat had formed on his furrowed brown, and Lance couldn’t help but stare. When Keith was focused on something, he would easily drift into a hyper-focus, completely ignoring the things around him. Lance wanted to ask what he was thinking about, but he knew Keith would only give him the run around.

Lance looked forward again, shifting his blaster in his hands. The silence was bothering him, but he knew what he signed up for when he agreed to accompany Keith on their mission. Sometimes, it seemed that Lance and Keith were on good footing, laughing and joking with each other. Other times, Keith would ignore him or say his playfully hurtful comments that secretly upset Lance. Right now, they were in a period of the latter. 

Through the silence, there was a soft moan of an animal. It was low-pitched, sad, and distressed. Keith blinked, the sound breaking him from the trance of his thoughts. He looked ahead at the open desert. “What was that?” Keith asked.

“It sounded like a ... whale,” Lance responded.

Keith halted in his tracks, lowering his sword from the offensive position. The cold metal rested against his thigh as Keith looked defeatedly at Lance. “We’re in the middle of the desert, Lance. Why on Earth would there be a whale?”

Lance stopped to turn to Keith, ready to shoot back with something snarky, but Keith cut him off by pushing his elbow. The force turned Lance back around, and Keith made a shushing noise. In the distance were two small animals, reminiscent of skunks on Earth. Slightly larger and much more furry, the animals were sprawled on the ground, heads bowed on the sand. Lance felt Keith place a hand on his shoulder and apply light pressure, pushing Lance forward to a grouping of rocks. The pair knelt down and watched the animals from afar.

Lance was always aware of just how protective Keith was of the Paladins. The animals ahead of them were obviously in distress, yet Keith’s muscles were tight as he peered over the ridge of rocks. His sword was prepped and ready to attack.

Lance laughed. “C’mon, Keith, they look like they’re in trouble.” He stood up and started walking towards the animals.

Keith grabbed Lance’s arm. “You don’t know anything about those creatures. They could be dangerous.”

Lance looked at the pathetic skunks on the ground, then back at Keith. He chuckled. “Yeah, Keith, they’re so dangerous. I’m shaking in my armor.” Lance’s eyes drifted down to Keith’s hand on his arm. Despite staring, Keith didn’t move it, and in fact, tightened his grip.

Heat rose into Lance’s cheeks as he yanked his arm back, steadied his gun in his hands, and started to approach the animals. Behind him, he could hear Keith calling his name out, hushed. As Lance neared the animals, they didn’t move. He could hear a couple more groans and heavy breaths the closer he came. “You okay, little guys?” Lance murmured.

The creature directly in front of Lance attempted to lift its head from the sand. It let out a pathetic moan and twitched its paw towards Lance.

“Aw, see, Keith? They’re hurt! Or sick, or something,” Lance called back, as he reached for the animal’s paw. “We should try to help them out -”

There was a bright flash from the creature that laid in front of Lance, blinding him slightly before he pulled up his gun to shield his face. The force of whatever had come at him had knocked him back on his butt and his gun from his hand. The deep breaths of the animals slowly became breathy growls, and something much more menacing than the tiny skunk-looking thing Lance had seen before.

But Lance _couldn’t see_ it. Not anymore. The light that had flashed from the animal was enough to blind him momentarily. Lance could hear roars of the animals, and the shifting of the ground near him – Keith’s footsteps.

“What are you doing, you idiot?” Keith called out. “Get off your butt!”

Lance reached around him, looking for his bayard. “I can’t see anything! That flash must have blinded me!”

Even in the heat of battle, Lance heard Keith give him an exasperated and indignant sigh. A feeling of helplessness washed over Lance as he still stumbled around looking for his bayard. He could hear Keith grunting and taunting the animals around him, successfully managing to keep the attention on him instead of Lance.

Familiar cold metal hit Lance’s fingertips, and he wrapped his hand around the bayard, feeling it transform into his blaster. But... what? What could Lance do except blindly fire? He could hit Keith if he wasn’t careful. Lance stood up, shakily, trying to get his bearings by listening to the battle around him.

“Lance, duck!” Keith yelled out, panicked.

Lance fell back to his knees and felt air pass just above his head – probably from a paw or tail. After a few more grunts from Keith and a sickening squelch, Lance heard one of the creatures cry out in pain. The strike from Keith must have been enough to scare both of them away because Lance could feel the ground shake with heavy, running footsteps.

“What did you think you were you doing?! Those things could have killed you!” Keith yelled.

Lance let out a scoffed and turned his head up to look at Keith, though all he saw was bright white. He felt the back of his head lightly clip Keith’s chin. Keith must have been just above him.  “Well, you long took enough! What were those things, two feet tall?! How could you not beat them faster?”

Lance felt Keith grab his arm, pulling Lance back to his feet. “They grew into huge beasts! Don’t get mad at me when this is obviously _your fault_!” He felt Keith’s hands on either side of his arms. Keith was jostling him around. Lance assumed he was looking for cuts or bruises.

Defensive, Lance crossed his arms, his bayard slinking back into its resting form. He turned, assuming he was turning his back on Keith. “Well, sorry for actually feeling a bit of sympathy for them! They could have been dying. I was just doing what a normal _human_ would have done. 

Lance read Keith’s silence as a sign he had gone a little too far. After a minute had passed, he hesitantly spoke. “K-Keith? I’m sorry.” He unfolded his arms, letting them fall at his side. “I- ”

Lance heard the terrain shift around Keith. Suddenly, he felt a damp hand lace its fingers through his. He turned back towards Keith’s direction, some faint colors coming back to his vision.

“I’m just glad you’re okay. Could have been a lot worse.” He could feel blush coming to his cheeks, as Keith rubbed the back of Lance’s thumb. “You are okay, right?”

Lance faintly saw Keith’s blurry profile coming into focus, a soft smile on Keith’s lips. He gave Keith’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “Good. Let’s get off this stupid planet.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr Post Prompt: "Lacing their bloodstained fingers together and giving a reassuring squeeze to let the other know they're alright."


End file.
